Album Review

It's difficult to remember a time when Spice Girls' solo careers weren't met with either total apathy or utter bemusement, but at the start of the noughties, Melanie C appeared poised to become the Robbie Williams of the group, with debut Northern Star racking up over a millions sales, spawning two U.K. number one singles, and sticking two fingers up to the skeptics who argued that a girl-band singer, best known for doing back flips in track suits would never appeal to an older album-buying audience. Unfortunately, it's all been downhill since then, and after taking herself too seriously on 2003's underperforming Reason, her solo career has fallen the wayside of her former bandmates', with the self-pitying pub rock of 2005's Beautiful Intentions and 2007's more encouraging but still slightly bland This Time failing to make any kind of impact whatsoever. But while the rest of the Spice Girls appear content to concentrate their efforts on trashy reality shows and fashion ranges, the artist formerly known as Sporty Spice continues to persevere with what she became famous for, as evident on her fifth studio album, The Sea. The good news is that while the four-year gap between her first and second record killed her career, the same lengthy time away this time around appears to have rejuvenated it, as its 11 tracks, co-written with the likes of Starsailor's James Walsh, Guy Chambers, and Spice/Spiceworld producer Richard Stannard, are the most mature and accomplished she's produced in over a decade. Drenched in luscious cinematic strings, the tribal drums and new age melodies of the title track, the Latin-tinged percussion of "Weak," and the twinkling, ambient electronica of the epic eight-minute "Enemy," feature the kind of orchestral production which show that Melanie's sometimes rough-around-the-edges tones have pleasantly mellowed somewhat: "Think About It" and "Stupid Game" are bombastic Katy Perry/Kelly Clarkson-esque pop/rock anthems which prove she can still compete with those who were barely in their teens during the peak of Spicemania, while the grandiose "Get Out of Here" sounds like Muse's cover of "Feeling Good" crossed with a John Barry James Bond score. The X-Factor winner's "Beautiful Mind" and '80s-inspired "Drown" are perhaps just two string-soaked ballads too many, while "Burn," with its simplistic, childlike production, is pure synth pop by numbers. But The Sea is still a huge leap forward from her past three efforts, and had it been released as the follow-up to Northern Star, rather than 12 years down the line, it could possibly have sustained her initial solo success. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi

Customer Reviews

Dont hesitate, snatch this one up.

by
Tiv1234

The backing power behind the spice girls goes all out in her new full length album The Sea, and it's her greatest collection of work yet. Definite hits are Stupid Game, Drown, and Think About It.

This is like Adele if she did a dance album with Celine Dion, purely genius and i cannot praise it enough. Every note is perfectly placed, and the bass is so rich and pure.

Just buy it, you wont regret it.

Let's get Melanie C the attention she deserves for this work of art. Brilliant. Let's get this up up up on the charts!!!

Fantastic!!!

by
crazy4uu

Beautiful Melanie! This is a must buy everyone

Perfect Blend

by
zachlife

Was a fan since 1996 at the age of 5. Was really looking forward to this album as the previews really caught my interest. The diversity of this album is really surprising. The song quality is there, as well as the amazing vocal stylings of Mel C, but the amount of variety on this album is what makes this album worth the buy.

Biography

Born: January 12, 1974 in Merseyside, England

Genre: Pop

Years Active: '90s, '00s, '10s

The world-famous Sporty Spice, singer Melanie Chisholm was born January 12, 1975, in Liverpool, England; a onetime session vocalist and ballet dancer, in March of 1994 she answered an advertisement for an all-girl vocal group, and with fellow applicants Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, and Melanie Brown formed the nucleus of what later (with the addition of fifth member Emma Bunton) became the Spice Girls. The biggest pop phenomenon of the late '90s, the Spice Girls enjoyed a series of chart-topping...